Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 14703
Loc: Hurricane Alley
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With a new copy of the Sky Atlas 2000 in my hands and a paralellogram mount on the way, your's truly is EXCITED about observing again.
Comet 2006-A1 Pojmanski will be a nice binocular treat in March (perhaps a great finale for the Messier Marathon, since it is a pre-dawn object)....During the last week of March, the moon will be waning into it's New phase and if weather cooperates, I am going to be out there....in force.
I'm already stocking up on coffee, powdered donuts, cigars, and batteries for my red-flashlight. Who else out there in the Bino Forum is going to give the marathon a "college try" ??
My personal "record" for DSO's viewed in a single evening is about 20....I hope to shatter than by at least a factor of 2 or 3.
Bill Ferris has posted some nice information on his website concerning the marathon. The links can be found in his recent post on the Deep Sky forum. As of right now, I am planning on using the Macholz list posted on the SEDS site as my guide. What lists/programs are others using? Is there a better list for my location?
Thanks....good luck...and clear dark skies...
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Buy/Sell/Trade Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, & 35 different falls and types!
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Alby
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/12/05
Posts: 899
Loc: Ontario, Canada
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Mike;
I'll be out with the BT 100/45 giving it ago.
I won't be trying for all M objects in one night, perhaps over two or three nights.
Good luck to all:)
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Alby
Scoping Savant
10in LX200 Classic SCT
Oberwerk BT 100 45
7x50 USSR Binocs
Nikon Action Extreme 10x50 binocs
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mplkn1
sage
Reged: 08/28/05
Posts: 393
Loc: Centrally Inaccessible, PA
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Hey Mike -
I've been reading and using Harvard Pennington's "The Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide" for months now. Been recommending it to others!
I've been taking it outside at night, reading it on the way to work, in the bathtub, etc, all in working toward trying to answer your original question.
The thing is: can I do it?
Man, I have to prep! Clothing, Thermos, I don't chew ceegars, but can go through Tootsie Rolls like nobody's business! Gotta get all equipment well wrung-out. And then, there's the matter of surviving the next day.
(Shhh. Don't tell anyone: I don't bounce back the way I used to in the age of bell bottoms.)
I would really like to try it.
My family might swear I've finally driven off the edge. "He's not exactly firing on all thrusters, y'know..."
(sigh)
Who knows, maybe I'll shame myself into giving it a go.
Sincere thanks for posting this timely question (the Challenge!)
Might be just the goose I need to get off my caboose, say to heck with the torpedos, and full speed ahead!
Best wishes, and many thanks -
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Michael -
"I am obliged to confess that I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University."
William F. Buckley, 1963.
Orion (Celestron) 8" SCT on SkyView Pro, Telrad.
Garrett Optical Gemini 25x100 WP IF,
Bogen 3051 tripod w/ 3063 head.
Oberwerk 10x60 Mariner.
Palm Planetarium.
Stellarium on a Motion Computing tablet PC.
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12599
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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I suggest accessing the link to Stephen Tonkin's website article Planning a Messier Marathon. The link is provided thru our post pinned at the top titled Links to Web.
I think it would be a good idea for anyone planning to attempt the marathon to go out and spend the time needed to locate all the Messiers prior to marathon day.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 14703
Loc: Hurricane Alley
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Quote:
I think it would be a good idea for anyone planning to attempt the marathon to go out and spend the time needed to locate all the Messiers prior to marathon day.
A very valuable tip that I hear often and I will promise to heed. I am not optimistic about finding ALL of the Messiers during the marathon night(s), especially the difficult jumble in the Virgo cluster.
I have observed 38 Messier objects to date, of those perhaps 20 are ones that I am familiar with and can easily find without the help of charts. My main limitation during any such marathon will be my local light pollution. My repeated failures to detect M1 despite valiant doses of averted vision, is an omen that some objects will NOT be visible from my backyard no matter what phase the moon is.
However, I am going to give a college try at finishing out my AL Bino-Messier certificate during the course of the marathon....so hopefully something will be accomplished. If nothing else, I hope to double my current tally of Messiers.
I do have a couple of advantages this year over last year : I have a copy of SA2000, a red dot finder, and in the next week or two, a paralellogram mount. I like my chances this year, IF the weather cooperates.
Thanks for the headsup about the Tonkin link, I'm going to check that out now...
MikeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Buy/Sell/Trade Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, & 35 different falls and types!
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milt
sage
Reged: 09/13/04
Posts: 430
Loc: Arizona
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Hi Mike,
Every Marathon about 3:00AM I say never again, and then the next year there I am again mainlining coffee and double chocolate brownies. It may be of interest to this forum that I never broke 100 M's until I used binoculars! A mounted 80-100mm bino is the perfect tool because it is a finder scope and telescope all rolled into one. The folks that do MM's handheld are the true heroes.
Oh, I almost forgot, if you have the $5 Sky Publishing laminated Messier Card http://www.shopatsky.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=876 you really don't have to worry about sequence that much - it has all 24 hrs. of RA laid out and you just work your way across the sky.
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Clear skies, Milt
Edited by milt (02/12/06 01:08 PM)
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mplkn1
sage
Reged: 08/28/05
Posts: 393
Loc: Centrally Inaccessible, PA
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Quote:
I think it would be a good idea for anyone planning to attempt the marathon to go out and spend the time needed to locate all the Messiers prior to marathon day.
Well, clear skies to us all then!
Nobody buy any new equipment between now and then or we're sunk.
Central PA is still trying to get out from under the two more HighLight Plossls I bought during Orion's sale...
Somehow I'll get there, one Messier object at a time.
Best wishes all!
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Michael -
"I am obliged to confess that I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University."
William F. Buckley, 1963.
Orion (Celestron) 8" SCT on SkyView Pro, Telrad.
Garrett Optical Gemini 25x100 WP IF,
Bogen 3051 tripod w/ 3063 head.
Oberwerk 10x60 Mariner.
Palm Planetarium.
Stellarium on a Motion Computing tablet PC.
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10163
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Has anyone ( EdZ perhaps ? ) ever completed a Messier Marathon and a 26 mile MARATHON RUN within the same 24 hour period ?
Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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John Flannery
sage
Reged: 12/03/04
Posts: 303
Loc: Dublin, Ireland
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Quote:
Has anyone ( EdZ perhaps ? ) ever completed a Messier Marathon and a 26 mile MARATHON RUN within the same 24 hour period ?
I once cycled 144 miles round-trip for a job interview if that would do Kenny? No observing involved the night before though. Oh to be young again ;-)
am thinking of doing the Messier Marathon when in Antalya, Turkey for the March 29th total solar eclipse. A friend said I could bring his image stabilised binoculars for the attempt but I'm terrified of how much it would cost to replace them if anything happened. I'll probably used the 22x100mms coupled with a 4-inch refractor another friend is toting to the eclipse.
second the recommendation of Harvard Pennington's book. It's a marvellous guide to finding the M-objects. Like you Mike, I'm a little nervous of plunging into the Virgo Cluster but if we get a few clear skies prior to travelling it will let me get used to the FOV of the big binos and how the Virgo group appears in them.
best,
John
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Oscail do Shuile D'iontas na Cruinne/Open Your Eyes to the Wonder of the Universe
Bliann Idirnáisiúnta Réalteolaíochta 2009/International Year of Astronomy 2009
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12599
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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I haven't even come close to a Messier marathon. Last time a similar question was asked, I think I counted roughly 20 Messiers still I have never seen, let alone find them all in one night.
On the other hand I've got 6 marathons under my belt, all under 3 hours.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
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mplkn1
sage
Reged: 08/28/05
Posts: 393
Loc: Centrally Inaccessible, PA
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Quote:
On the other hand I've got 6 marathons under my belt, all under 3 hours.
Each???
Honor is due...
--------------------
Michael -
"I am obliged to confess that I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University."
William F. Buckley, 1963.
Orion (Celestron) 8" SCT on SkyView Pro, Telrad.
Garrett Optical Gemini 25x100 WP IF,
Bogen 3051 tripod w/ 3063 head.
Oberwerk 10x60 Mariner.
Palm Planetarium.
Stellarium on a Motion Computing tablet PC.
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5314
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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Quote:
Has anyone ( EdZ perhaps ? ) ever completed a Messier Marathon and a 26 mile MARATHON RUN within the same 24 hour period ?
Kenny
I used to run 10Ks but not before or right after a Messier Marathon. 
A couple of times I've bagged 105 Messier objects on a Massier marathon. I think once I got 106 Messier objects. This was with 5" and 6" refractors. I also used a binocular to help find M33.
This year I may try the marathon with the Kowa Highlander. I need to look around for a good Telrad like finder for it.
Don Machholz is one of our club members and one of the first to come up with the idea of a Messier Marathon. I find his Messier Marathon guide very helpful. I use it as a star map and check list.
I believe Don now has found 10 comets. He does it the old way by observing the night sky, not looking at photos/images.
http://www.seds.org/messier/m-ref.html
Observer's Guide -- Handbook and Atlas. Make Wood Products, P.O.Box 1716, Colfax, CA 95713 (USA). 1994. Interesting stuff on Charles Messier, his comets, his catalog including discussion of "nebulous" (missing, stellar, and the star cloud) and "add-on" objects, a catalog, finder charts, plus proposed Marathon. 97 p. As a bonus, it contains Machholz's own estimates of apparent brightness and dimension of all 110 Messier objects (look at his list). Also available from Sky Publishing # 46050.
Don Machholz. The Observing Guide to the Messier Marathon. A Handbook and Atlas. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Second enhanced and updatededition of the Messier Marathon Observer's Guide, including interesting stuff on Charles Messier, his comets, his catalog and the discussions mentioned above, the Messier Marathon history, &c.
Rich
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12599
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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Quote:
Each???
In fact only one over 2:50. You know how they talk about hitting the wall. That wall is made of bricks my friends. I knew that's what it was, when about mile 20 I fell from 6:15 pace to about 8:30 pace. Lost 12-14 minutes in the last 6 miles.
Still, from my perspective, it's easier to do 26 than it is 110. Takes a lot less time too. I wonder which one takes longer to train for. After several years of good solid base, it takes 4 months to prep for 26.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
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John Flannery
sage
Reged: 12/03/04
Posts: 303
Loc: Dublin, Ireland
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Quote:
On the other hand I've got 6 marathons under my belt, all under 3 hours.
that's pretty impressive Edz. Well done on all that dedication and achivement. Back in the mid-1980s when I lived near Gatwick Airport in England I used to compete as a competitive cyclist and it involved thousands of miles of training and racing per year. Uniquely, to England, there were time trials that were based on the distance you covered in 12 or 24 hours. "Testers" (as time trialists were dubbed) could regularly be seen pounding out the miles up and down main roads when these events were held. I never tried one of those "races" as they seemed like a real marathon to me!
allez le Tour!
John
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Oscail do Shuile D'iontas na Cruinne/Open Your Eyes to the Wonder of the Universe
Bliann Idirnáisiúnta Réalteolaíochta 2009/International Year of Astronomy 2009
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10163
Loc: Lancashire UK
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John ,
That 144 mile round - trip for a job interview is mighty IMPRESSIVE !
I hope you got the job :-)
I remember when I was only nine years old , one day I cycled all the way to Blackpool Tower and back home on a very small push bike with no gears on it !
That was a 46 mile round trip , only stopping for a 10 minutes look at the tower from immediately below ( 512 feet of red - painted steel girders looked AWESOME to me at that age ! )
I probably played football non stop for 3 or 4 hours later that day , too !
Oh , to be young again , indeed ! :-)
Regards , Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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CESDewar
GorillAstronomer
Reged: 01/16/05
Posts: 1812
Loc: Morganton, GA, USA
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Quote:
Who else out there in the Bino Forum is going to give the marathon a "college try" ??
Well I passed completely last year as I had only caught about 20 Messier object in all at that time, but now with 108 covered (and two relatively simple one's left - but only visible well after midnight, so I've been waiting for a good time to get them!) and having caught both M74 and m76 in 18x50's bino's, I know the skies here can be dark enough to catch most of them. I also have new Saturn III binos with a Green laser which should be an ideal instrument for a marathon. And it looks like I have an employee (who is interested in astronomy) half-persuaded to stay up all night and act as recorder/scheduler/confirmer . Main issue now is do I do this where it's really convenient (by my cabin at 1,900' but with trees around), or head up to Brasstown Bald (elevation 4,000' and 360 degree viewing) which will obviously work better but a lot less comfortable!
Anyway, I'll have fun that evening as I do intend to finally pick up M68 and M83 which are the only two Messier's I have left to "bag". I've been looking at the skies around Messier viewing time, and it looks like M74's going to be awfully difficult to catch - it's one of the more difficult (if not most difficult) Messiers, and it will be very low at sunset - at 7pm it'll be only 20 degree elevation and it won't be completely dark at that point. I've been monitoring that one on the few clear nights recently, and that's going to be tough. And M30 is only set to rise around 5:10am on the 25th, by 6:30am it'll only be 14 degrees elevation AND it'll already be getting light by then. So from where I am (2hrs N of Atlanta, GA), catching all of them looks like it would be impossible anyway, but if I get more than half (and I should be able to do that if it's clear), I'll be a happy camper. I hope to do a dry-run around New Moon on Feb28 as I am heeding the advice of wise one's on this forum to try and find everything AGAIN BEFORE the crush and pressure of the marathon!
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Glassthrower
Vendor - Galactic Stone & Ironworks
Reged: 04/07/05
Posts: 14703
Loc: Hurricane Alley
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I seriously doubt that I will bag M74 or any of the other TOUGH targets, due to my local NELM ~4.4 skies. Some objects just don't show up through the skyglow.
Now this part is important, like Michael said, NOBODY BUY ANY NEW EQUIPMENT UNTIL AFTER THE MARATHON!...the last thing we need is a solid cloud-deck through the whole month of March.
I ordered my paralellogram mount LAST OCTOBER, so I hope that doesn't count!
MIkeG
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Michael Gilmer - Member of the Meteoritical Society & Collector of Falling Stars.
Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Buy/Sell/Trade Meteorites, Moon Rocks, Mars Rocks, & 35 different falls and types!
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5314
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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I sometimes pass on M74 to spend more time on the other early evening objects.
It really helps to do a dry run a week or two before the marathon. Constellations what were high overhead look so different when they are near the horizon that it takes me a little time to get used to the different orientation.
Low power binoculars are a big help in seeing "dim" stars in the glow of early evening sky. Seeing these dim stars is a big help in accurate aiming and finding DSOs (when star hopping).
Rich
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milt
sage
Reged: 09/13/04
Posts: 430
Loc: Arizona
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Quote:
about mile 20 I fell from 6:15 pace
Ed, You held a 6:15 pace for 20 miles !?!?
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12599
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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Milt,
I've done 6:00 pace for 20, but I've never been able to hold it for the last 6.2. Finished that one in 2:41. 2nd masters at Vermont.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
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